Kenya Experience

August 2002

Prayer Letter 1

Team Members

'Faithful is He that calleth you...'  1 Thess 5:24

Stephen Irons, Linda Irons, Rachael Williamson, Claire Millar, Brian Moore, Richard McCord, Laura Irons

'And behold, "I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of."   Genesis 28:15

Stephen & Julie's Experience

Stephen & Julie went to Tuum in Kenya at the beginning of the year to help Stephen and Angelina Cowan who work amongst the local Samburu people, bringing them the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Calling of a New Team for 2002

'Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.' Joshua 1:9

Since Stephen has been home, his time in Tuum has created a heavy burden in his heart for the people of Kenya.  Well the Lord works in his time which is always perfect and as Stephen prayed for the Cowans, he never imagined he would be going out so soon again.  But as we know it is not what we want it is in the Spirit of God that he reveals his will to us.  An email was received from the Cowans asking if a team would come out from Ballee Baptist.  After much heart searching and prayer, a team is going out from Ballee on the 2 August 2002 to help in the Lord's work.

An Example of The Work

YOUTH CAMPS - commencing on 10 August for 5 days. Age group 14 - 30!! Around 75 people.

CHILDREN'S CAMPS - commencing 16 August for 5 days. Age group 9 - 14. Around 125 people.

Prayer Requests

'And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray,' Luke 11:1

• Pray for each individual person on the team. Specifically for unity and the opportunity to grow in our faith.

• Pray that the Lord will guide in all preparation.

• Pray the each member will be able to put all our preparation learning into practise and the freedom to express our gifts.

• Pray for Stephen as he leads the team, that God will meet all his needs.

• Pray for our outreach work in Kenya, Tuum, and for Stephen and Angelina Cowan, the local missionaries we will be working with.

• Pray for all our concerns regarding the injections and other vaccinations required.

• Pray for the speedy processing of our Visas.

• Pray that God will go before us to prepare the hearts of the Samburu people to receive God's word.

Pray without ceasing - 1 Thess 5:17

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Prayer Letter 2

The team would like to thank you for the time that you have committed in praying for our forthcoming visit to Kenya.  Your support and prayers are essential to everyone to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Already God has been so faithful to us.

Praise God for:

• Answered prayer for our visas being returned so quickly

• No ill effects after vaccinations

• Team unity

• The privilege of God's presence with us on group study days

• For gifts which have been received

Continue interceding for:

• Stephen & Angelina Cowan - Missionaries in Kenya

• The Samburu people that God will prepare their hearts to accept the Gospel

• Landrover journey to Tuum

• Children's meetings and Youth Camps

Here is an outline of the structure of our day while in Kenya:

Pray without ceasing - 1 Thess 5:17

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Prayer Letter 3

Our Aim...

• To spread the Word of God

• That we may see souls saved to glorify His name

• To help Steven and Angelina Cowan (Missionaries)

• To hold children's camps and youth camps

• To grow in our own walk with God and glorify Him in our Christian lives

Your Part...

• To praise God for bringing together a team from Ballee Baptist Church

• To praise God for bringing the team this far and for the fellowship with the church which has made it possible to do God's will

Thanks...

• For all the gifts including the pens, pencils, materials and money which we have received to further the work in Kenya.  The Cowans will be pleased that God is blessing in this way

Please pray...

• For safe travel

• That the malaria tablets that have to be taken each week, and are difficult to take, don't cause any side effects

• That God will shine in and through our lives

• That God will receive all of the glory

• That the holy Spirit will speak to the unsaved and will help those who have trusted in our Lord Jesus to grow

• For continued unity within the team

• For our families left at home

Finally...

We would like to thank you all for the interest you have taken and for your prayer support.  Continue in prayer as it is very important to bring us before the throne of God, remembering that He is our strength and through Him all things are possible.

We will try as much as possible to keep everyone updated via e-mail.  If you would like to receive this information and have not already submitted your email address, you can do so by emailing kenya2002@balleebaptist.org 

Pray without ceasing - 1 Thess 5:17

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ABOVE: The Team as they are about to depart for Kenya

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EMAIL CONTACT 1 - Saturday 3 August 2002

This is just an email to say hello and also to up-date you on the story so far.  Yesterday was busy for all. The first problem arose when the guitar had to go into the hold. This caused a problem as they didn't want it to get damaged.

When they arrived in London, a couple of the members of the team got there hand luggage taken off them and sent down into the hold. Also the portfolio that they had all the craft material in was also sent. However they have arrived in Narobi safe and sound with all luggage accounted for.

They have had tea and were going to have an early night has it has been a busy couple of days.

They are going to a church tomorrow called Nairobi Baptist chapel. The service they are going to is at 8am (6am our time). They then plan to start there journey towards Tuum.

One of Stephen's drivers is sick and as a result Stephen Irons may have to drive to Tuum. Please pray that if this does happen that God will give him the strength to do so and for travelling mercies. As you already known it wouldn't be like driving here!

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EMAIL CONTACT 2 - Tuesday 6 August 2002

Arrived in Tuum at last, after a very long 24 hours on the road. The Journey up has been an experience to say the least. Numerous punctures, towing other vehicles out of the ditch because of the heavy rain, and the final straw was a broken stub axle, which resulted in a serious injury to Stephen C's hand.

Rachel did her first aid bit, Stephen received five stitches to his injury at hospital in Maralal.

We have now all had a good nights sleep in Tuum and everyone is feeling a little more refreshed.

We praise God for his hand upon us during our long journey up, knowing that it could have so easily been so much worse.

We now have a few days to prepare for the camps, please pray for Gods

continuing hand upon us.

Lots of love to you all, The Team

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EMAIL CONTACT 3 - Friday 9 August 2002

We have all now settled well into life at Tuum and are enjoying God's wonderful creation. The young people will start to arrive tomorrow (Saturday). Please pray that God will give us all wisdom as we prepare our materials for the first camp. Pray also for Stephen 'C' that God will continue to heal the hand injury praise God there is no sign of infection.

We started out to go to Lake Trakana yesterday but had to turn back as the vehicle broke down - God had other plans for us. Please pray for two people in particular - Ambrose that God will save him and lemede - who is treating the compound as a safe heaven as he believes he is under a curse from others.

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EMAIL CONTACT 4 - Thursday 15 August 2002

The youth camp is now over this morning and we have been greatly encouraged by the response to Gods word. Many have testified to being encouraged and and some have ask for prayer, others too have trusted Christ. Praise God.

Please continue to pray for us as we are all very tired due to early starts and late nights. Brian has even been doing his exercises at the airstrip at 0630 in the morning!!!

We start the children's camp tonight and it will run for the next 5 days - over 120 expected.

God is continuing to keep His hand upon us as a team - we are learning a lot. Stephen 'C' has had all the stitches removed from his hand and it has healed well.

We will be leaving Tuum early Wednesday morning (21st) to head for the Safari Lodge and then onto Nairobi on Friday.

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EMAIL CONTACT 5 - Wednesday 21 August 2002

The children's camp finished today at lunch time. We were sorry to see the children go as we had made many friends. We are all extremely tired as we had no time off between the camps. This was so we could fit in all our travel at the end. The children like the youth testify to having enjoyed God's blessing during the camp and have learned much - and so have we!

The weather has been very hot and added to our exhaustion. This is the last e-mail from Tuum as we will leave here tomorrow morning at 8am. We will be within range of mobile telephone by lunch time Friday as we should be approaching Nairobi.

We will be staying in Nairobi on Friday night before leaving on Saturday evening. Looking forward to seeing you all again.

EMAIL CONTACT 6 - Monday 26 August 2002

Praise God we are all home safe and sound after a long journey home arriving into Belfast around 11pm last night.

We had no problems at all during our return journey from Tuum. We actually stayed 2 nights in the Samburu Safari Lodge on the way down and then our last night was in Nairobi.

Already Tuum and the camps seem just a memory yet I believe God taught us all so much during our "Kenya Experience" there are memories which we will never forget.

Thank you all for your continued interest and prayer support and look forward to telling you all about our trip, in person very soon.